Monument to the Duke de Richelieu in Odessa (also
known as the Bronze Duke) is a full-length bronze monument dedicated
to Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, Duke de Richelieu, opened in 1828.
The first monument erected in Odessa.
De Richelieu
participated in the assault on Ishmael, and five years later he
settled in the Russian Empire for a long time. In 1803, Richelieu
became the mayor, and from 1805 to 1814 the governor-general of
Odessa. Odessans called him "our Duke" and considered him the
founder of the city, although by that time Odessa was already 8
years old. Through the efforts of the new mayor, the city turned
into a major trading port.
When the Bourbons regained the
throne, Duke left for France, where he became prime minister in the
government of Louis XVIII. He died on May 16, 1822 at the age of 55
in Paris from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Who Was the “Duc”? The Man Behind the Statue
The figure honored is
Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of
Richelieu and Fronsac (25 September 1766 – 17 May 1822), a French
nobleman, soldier, statesman, and émigré. He was the great-great-nephew
of the famous Cardinal Richelieu. Born into aristocracy in Paris, he
served as a chamberlain to Louis XVI and was a loyalist during the
French Revolution. In 1790, facing danger from revolutionary forces (and
at the request of Marie Antoinette), he fled to Russia, joined the
Imperial Russian Army under Catherine the Great, and distinguished
himself in the Russo-Turkish War—most notably at the 1790 siege of
Izmail under General Suvorov, where he earned the Order of St. George
and a golden sword.
After brief service in the counter-revolutionary
Army of Condé and a period of disfavor under Tsar Paul I, his fortunes
improved under Tsar Alexander I (a personal friend). In 1803, at age 37,
he was appointed Governor (and later Governor-General of New Russia) of
Odessa, a young Black Sea port founded only in 1794 by José de Ribas and
others. He held the post from 8 October 1803 to 27 August 1814—11
transformative years.
Richelieu’s Transformative Role in Odessa
(1803–1814)
Though Odessa was already nine years old when he arrived,
locals and contemporaries quickly regarded him as one of its true
founders—“our Duke” (nash Dyuk). Under his leadership, the city exploded
in growth:
Population and economy: The population grew more than
fivefold (reaching around 35,000), and it became the Russian Empire’s
third-largest city. He secured porto-franco (duty-free port) status,
turning Odessa into the dominant Black Sea trading hub.
Infrastructure and urban planning: He oversaw massive port expansions,
new buildings, European-style architecture (with input from architects
like Franz Boffo), and the planting of acacia trees. He built a theater,
hospital, schools, churches of multiple denominations, and attracted
waves of immigrants (Greeks, Italians, Jews, Bulgarians, Germans).
Governance and vision: Richelieu emphasized commerce, agriculture,
justice, and education. He personally funded much of the development
from his own fortune. During the 1812 plague epidemic, he enforced
strict quarantines while keeping trade alive. He also commanded troops
in the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) and Caucasian campaigns.
In
1814–1815 he returned to France after the Bourbon Restoration, twice
serving as Prime Minister under Louis XVIII (1815–1818 and 1820–1821).
He died suddenly of a stroke in Paris in 1822 at age 55 and was buried
in the Sorbonne church.
Creation of the Monument (1822–1828)
News of the Duke’s death reached Odessa quickly. His successor as mayor,
Count Alexandre de Langeron (a fellow French émigré and friend),
immediately proposed a monument and launched a public
subscription—Odessa’s citizens donated enthusiastically. Construction
began around 1824–1825 under the new Governor-General Count Mikhail
Vorontsov.
Sculptor: Ivan Martos, the renowned Russian-Ukrainian
artist best known for the Minin and Pozharsky monument in Moscow’s Red
Square.
Foundry: The bronze statue was cast in St. Petersburg under
master founder V. Ekimov.
Architect/pedestal: Franz Boffo (who later
helped design the Potemkin Stairs themselves) contributed to the overall
design.
Unveiling: The monument was inaugurated on 22 April 1828 (or
in spring 1828, sources vary slightly). It was the very first monument
erected in Odessa.
Later History and Cultural Legacy
Crimean
War (1854–1855): An Anglo-French naval squadron bombarded Odessa. A
shell struck the pedestal, leaving a visible dent. After the war, city
authorities humorously added an iron “patch” shaped like a
cannonball—still visible today—as a quirky reminder that even former
French allies once shelled “their” Duke.
19th–20th centuries: Mark
Twain praised the statue and stairs in The Innocents Abroad (1869),
calling Richelieu a paternal founder. A nearby cannon once fired at noon
(stolen in 1880). In Soviet times there were attempts to remove or
replace it (e.g., 1969), but it survived as a beloved local symbol.
Modern era: The Potemkin Stairs (built 1837–1841, originally called the
Richelieu or Giant Stairs) were constructed after the monument, leading
to the local joke that the stairs exist so the Duke could “descend to
his port.” The statue remains a popular meeting point (“Meet me by the
Duke”), good-luck spot for students before exams, and cultural icon.
During the current Russia-Ukraine war it has been protected with
sandbags at times.
Overall Architectural Composition and Urban Integration
The
monument is designed as a unified vertical composition that dominates
its setting. The bronze statue rises from a substantial, multi-tiered
pedestal on a stepped stylobate (base platform), creating a commanding
presence that aligns visually with the grand axial descent of the
Potemkin Stairs below and the neoclassical curved facades of the
surrounding boulevard buildings (including the famous yellow-and-white
City Hall ensemble).
The entire structure faces seaward, with the
Duke's gesture symbolically "welcoming" ships into the harbor,
reinforcing its role as a civic landmark and talisman for the city. The
design integrates classical proportions for balance and gravitas: the
statue's height (slightly larger than life-size, evoking ancient heroic
scale) elevates the figure above eye level, while the pedestal's stepped
pyramid base grounds it firmly in the urban plaza.
The Bronze
Statue: Sculptural Details and Iconography
Sculpted by the renowned
Russian neoclassicist Ivan Petrovich Martos (author of Moscow's Monument
to Minin and Pozharsky) and cast in bronze in Saint Petersburg by master
founder Vasily (V.P.) Ekimov, the statue portrays the Duke in
full-length, idealized form.
He stands in a contrapposto pose
reminiscent of ancient Roman orators or emperors (some observers note a
resemblance to Augustus). Draped in a voluminous Roman toga with deep,
naturalistic folds that cascade realistically over his body, the figure
avoids 19th-century attire to evoke classical statesmanship and moral
gravitas—a deliberate artistic choice typical of neoclassicism.
Right hand: Extended forward, index finger pointing toward the sea and
port, symbolizing invitation, guidance, and the Duke's role in fostering
maritime trade.
Left hand: Holds a rolled scroll, representing
governance, law-giving, and the foundational documents of Odessa's
prosperity.
Head and expression: Laurel-wreathed or simply idealized,
with a serene, forward-gazing profile that conveys wisdom and paternal
benevolence.
Surface: Originally polished bronze; now covered in a
characteristic green patina from oxidation, enhancing its monumental
endurance.
The Pedestal: Materials, Structure, and Architectural
Elements
The pedestal, designed with input from architects Avraam I.
Melnikov and Francesco (F.K.) Boffo, is a square-plan structure on a
truncated pyramidal stylobate (base) of local limestone, surmounted by a
polished pink granite cornice (quarried from the Southern Bug region and
donated by landowner Skaroninsky).
It features:
A high,
imposing granite shaft with clean, geometric lines.
Stepped granite
platform and base for stability and visual weight.
Total height
calibrated so the statue towers prominently without overwhelming the
human-scale plaza.
During the Crimean War (1854), an Anglo-French
cannonball struck the pedestal; it was repaired with a cast-iron patch
that incorporates the embedded projectile as a historical memorial—an
ironic touch, given the Duke's French origins.
The Bas-Reliefs
and Inscription: Symbolic High-Relief Sculpture
Three sides of the
pedestal bear large bronze high-reliefs (горельефы) by Martos,
allegorically depicting the Duke's key contributions: agriculture,
justice, and trade/commerce. These are executed in dynamic, high-relief
technique with deeply modeled figures that project outward for dramatic
shadow and depth.
The fourth (front-facing) side features a gilded
brass plaque with a dedicatory inscription expressing gratitude from the
citizens of Odessa and the surrounding provinces (Ekaterinoslav,
Kherson, and Taurida) for the Duke's role in laying the city's
foundations of welfare.
Specific iconography (based on surviving
details and historical descriptions):
Trade/Commerce relief (most
visited): Features a male allegorical figure (often interpreted as
Mercury/Hermes, god of commerce) holding a caduceus (herald's staff) and
a prominent sack/pouch of coins, with barrels and trade goods at his
feet. Tourists traditionally rub the coin bag for "luck in business and
wealth."
Justice relief: An allegorical female figure of Themis (or
Justice), notably depicted without a blindfold—symbolizing transparent,
fair, and enlightened rule under the Duke.
Agriculture relief: A
female personification surrounded by symbols of farming, harvest, and
agrarian bounty, underscoring the region's economic development.
These reliefs are cast in the same bronze as the statue, creating
material unity while using allegorical language drawn from classical
mythology to elevate civic virtues.
Historical and Symbolic
Significance in Architecture
As a pioneering work of public sculpture
in southern Russia, the monument embodies neoclassical principles of
harmony, symbolism, and moral instruction. Its foundation even
incorporated symbolic artifacts (coins from French and Russian eras plus
a posthumous medallion of the Duke), ritually linking past and present
prosperity.
Address: Primorsky Boulevard, 9. The monument faces the sea, right in front of it is the Potemkin Stairs leading to the Marine Station. Behind the monument are two buildings of official places, forming a semicircular square, then - Ekaterininskaya Square. The monument is successfully combined with the surrounding buildings and the Potemkin Stairs.
Odessans say: "Look at
Duke from the second hatch" or "Look at Duke from the hatch." Viewed
from the plumbing manhole to the left of the monument, the scroll
and the folds of Duke's clothing bear a striking resemblance to male
genitalia. In Igor Gankevich's song “Walk in Odessa”, the fact about
the hatch is reflected as follows: “Smiling at Duke, I walk along
the boulevard; I don’t look at him from the second hatch ... "
It
is interesting that Themis on the bronze high relief is depicted
without a traditional blindfold.
The monument is not very similar
to the portrait of Richelieu, since Martos, according to art
historians, was an unimportant portrait painter and preferred to
copy the available sculptural samples. Duke, apparently, was given
the face of the first Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian
Augustus.